“I …I can’t even wrap my head around that. My mom was fucking Russo?”
“Yeah,” I say with a cringe, remembering the exact scene I had walked in to see. “And honestly, it looked a little sloppy.”
“Jade, fuck. I don’t want to know that.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Sorry,” I laugh. “I just wanted to paint a realistic picture for you. I mean, it’s only fair, right? If I had to be subjected to it, then you should too.”
He shakes his head, looking as though he’s about to be sick. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and leaves it in his lap as he starts scrolling through his contact list. “Go back to the whole, ‘keeping tabs on you’ thing. What the fuck is that about?”
“I don’t know, but from what I could gather, Russo already had a connection to your mom before we met. When we started getting serious, he used it to his advantage. He had other people placed in my life too. Coach Sylvester, Dean Simmons, even Milo’s fucking dad, and now I have no idea if my friendship with Milo is even real?”
Colton reaches out and takes my hand. “It’s fucking real,” he insists. “Anyone can see that. I know Milo has practice at hiding what’s real, but you can’t fake that kind of friendship. It’s not possible.”
A ringing cuts through the room, and I glance down at Colton’s phone to find his mom’s name on the screen. He puts the call on speakerphone as we wait far too impatiently for her to answer.
“Colton, darling,” her voice finally comes through the phone, sounding far too optimistic. “Have you finally come to your senses and are ready to apologize to your dear mother?”
His eyes shoot up to mine. “Is it true?” he snaps.
Laurelle sighs, and I want to smack her for the disappointment she causes to flash in Colton’s eyes. “I figured that little bitch would twist the story. What did she tell you?”
“Exactly what happened. She walked in to find you fucking Mikhail Russo.”
Laurelle gasps. “That’s absurd. I don’t even know who you’re talking about. I’m in England at the moment, so I can assure you that your little whore certainly didn’t walk in on me doing anything.”
Colton scoffs and pulls up an app on his phone, which instantly locates her position. “Mom, you’re in a shitty hotel on the outskirts of Breakers Flats. I don’t know who you’re trying to fool. But tell me, if this were true, how would you know to accuse Ocean of something before even hearing what I had to say?”
Laurelle huffs as Colton shakes his head at just how pathetic his mom has become. “Fine, I was in a brief relationship with Mikhail. However, I ended things. He’s not a very good man.”
I grumble under my breath. “More like he kicked your bitch ass out because he was through with you.”
Colton meets my eye, and a sparkle lights up his face. “Mom, just be real for once. Why the fuck did you come back here? It wasn’t to rebuild a relationship with me, was it?”
She groans. “I came back because Mikhail asked me to. He had me watching that little slut of yours, and reporting back on her every movement. He was supposed to pay me but he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain.”
“Really? Because it certainly sounds like you got more than what you bargained for.”
“Don’t you speak to me like that,” Laurelle snaps. “I’m still your mother, and you will respect me.”
Colton scoffs. “Why did you do it?”
“Because I had no damn choice,” she yells at him. “And honestly, I don’t get his infatuation with her. There is absolutely nothing special about that girl. She has no redeeming qualities, and she’s not even pretty. You can do so much better, Colton. I thought I taught you better than that.”
“Goodbye, Mother.”
“Don’t you dare hang—”
Colton ends the call and tosses his phone to the bed beside him before pulling me into his chest and collapsing down into the soft blankets. “I’m sorry you had to hear that,” he tells me. “I promise, you’ll never have to have anything to do with her again, not if you don’t want to.”
“Thanks,” I murmur, spreading my fingers over his chest. “I don’t know how you came from that. She’s such a …”
“Bitch?”
“Yeah,” I laugh, though the joy doesn’t last long and quickly fades away, leaving us both laying with nothing but our own thoughts.
Colton lets out a deep sigh and curls his arm around my waist, holding me close. “I have to tell you something,” he murmurs, his voice low and full of guilt.
I push up onto my elbow and look at him, my brows drawn as I take in the expression on his face. I instantly narrow my eyes at him, knowing damn well that I’m not going to like what’s about to come out of his mouth. “What did you do?”